SFMC fees: Opposition turns heat on govt; Assembly adjourned

Assembly proceedings were stalled by the Opposition UDF on Wednesday over the lingering crisis in the self-financing medical and dental college admissions and an exorbitant Rs 11 lakhs annual fee. 

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Assembly proceedings were stalled by the Opposition UDF on Wednesday over the lingering crisis in the self-financing medical and dental college admissions and an exorbitant Rs 11 lakhs annual fee prescribed by the Supreme Court for MBBS courses after the state government allegedly dithered in reaching a timely agreement with the managements.   

The Opposition said the intervention of the Chief  Minister’s office and collusion with SFMC managements, over and above the inept handling of  the issue by Health Minister K K Shylaja, led to the present state of affairs.

Amid a totally weak defence of the state government and placard-wielding and slogan-shouting UDF legislators asking whether the poor needn’t have avenues for higher studies positioned in front of  his podium, Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan rushed through the presentation of the Maritime Bill without any discussion and adjourned the House to save the rest of the day from the Opposition heat. Kerala Congress (M) members and the BJP nominee had staged a walkout on the issue.

Giving notice to an adjournment motion, Congress MLA V D Satheesan lashed out at the government and the Health Minister for deliberately setting a looting ground for the SF medical-dental college managements,by giving a legal upper hand to the latter with the announcement of four types of fees structure this year, which was untenable, and delaying the admission process.

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